Bowed Lyre

The notorious orc bard Yagak Grimsaw is known for a great many things, baffling the people with his mesmerizing voice, astounding illusions, and his skill with nearly every instrument known. However, what particularly intrigued Boal Dreimydd, a skilled dwarven luthier, was the three-string bowed lyre that Yagak carried with him. Boal had invented the same instrument a few months earlier, but had not shared the design with anyone. Naturally he inquired about the lyre's origin, and Yagak answered thusly:

A dream from future you did impart,
A three-string lyre to win the heart!
Now I play for all to see,
And spread the word, to buy from thee!

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A three-string bowed lyre, or just a bowed lyre, consists of a long, box-shaped body with a flat soundboard and three strings stretched between the body and neck. It is made from two pieces of wood, one thicker plank hollowed out to create the sound box, and one thinner plank glued or nailed to cover it. The strings, made from tail hairs of horse or streamer, are played with a bow and produce a haunting, droning sound that compliments both Ortalian and orcish-shamanistic folk music.

The lyre was first designed in the early spring of 2120 PGE by Boal Dreimydd, but was first constructed by Yagak Grimsaw two months earlier, leading to a chronological contradiction. The popularity of the orcish bard has piqued the interest of minstrels throughout Gardemoor in his instrument of choice. As a result, the once humble luthier Boal has now become a wealthy dwarf, selling his instruments from shops in The Archonate, Haverhill, and Breakberg.

by PrippyMontyPoppyCock

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Meta: Making of the Bowed Lyre

Consider this part musings of a former woodworker trying their best as an amateur luthier; not a part of the article itself. Obviously inspired by the real world tagelharpe, with some artistic liberties taken. I introduced it as a concept to my world in 2022's bard challenge, and I'm glad I could get back to it! I have a slight disability, reducing function and inducing a lot of pain in my left wrist, so it is neither easy nor always fun to get back to woodworking. But hey, I finished! Sort of. I ordered some horsehair for strings, but they have yet to arrive, so the lyre is neither properly strung, nor bowed. I did string it with some fishing line though, just to get a feel of how it would look finished.

The body is made of two pieces of wood. The back is a piece of spruce 2" by 8" construction lumber I salvaged from a house I worked on four years ago. The front piece is a 1" piece of pine a former colleague mine milled around six years ago. Never throw away any piece of wood! I hollowed both pieces using chisels, leaving the final sound board about 5-8mm thick. For sound holes I carved in the elder fuþark runes jera, fehu, oþal, representing my real world initials jfo. Had to cheat a little and reinforce holes on the inside with some pieces of thin sheet metal, as the holes would severely weaken the structural integrity of the sound board.

I glued the two pieces together and shaped them using saws and planes, leaving a 1" thick rim around most of the hollowed out section, but leaving a 4" section of wood at the bottom of the instrument. Then I got to carving! Chamfered the edges all around, even did a tapered chamfer on the backside. Not sure how I would describe the carving I did on the bottom, swirls and holes? All to reduce overall weight, making it comfortable to hold, having something to fasten the tailpiece to, and I think it looks nice!

I colored the lyre using brown narvsverte, a substance normally used on leather. I'd say it's runnier than water, ideal for soaking into the wood fibers without obscuring the beautiful wood grain. Put on a layer of oil, and hung it up to dry. While drying I started working on the tuning pegs. They don't sell smooth hardwood dowels around here, and I don't have a lathe, so making anything round is a bit of a pain! Carved away at a piece of spalted white oak, which I've had in store since the local carpenter's trade school was defunded five years ago. Never throw away any piece of wood! Used the same wood for the bridge and tailpiece too, and threw in a bit of birch to make the pegs turnable! Birch that I've had in store for... alright you get the point. I also bought some microtuners from a local music shop to attach to the tailpiece.

And there it was, pegs mounted, tailpiece strung, and bridge balanced, all held together in harmony using scrap fishing line. It's about 90cm long and 18-19cm wide at its widest. Can't wait to get the horsehair and make some proper strings, I yearn to hear what tunes this beauty can make. Here are some terrible progress photos where you can get a good look at my dirty workshop. 1 through 5 from left to right:

by PrippyMontyPoppyCock

1. Layout on pine board
2. Rough cut and glued
3. Sound holes carved
4. Carved, shaped, sanded. Tuning pegs made.
5. Colored, bridge and tailpiece in place. Strung with fishing line.